40 under Forty

Utah’s Rising Stars

Di Lewis, Heather Stewart, Sarah Ryther Francom

February 1, 2012

Linford and Oozle partner, Travis Ashby, also created HalfPriceUtah.com, which is an aggregated Utah-based daily deals website that offers exclusive deals and also serves as an internet marketing platform. Within just six months, the company’s Facebook page is already a huge success with more than 75,000 likes.

Jamie Locke entered his post-college years with an entrepreneurial bent: he founded one of the first online auctions, DealDeal.com; helped launch an internet-based medical supply sourcing company; and started his own wireless internet service provider.

Now, as vice president at Sorenson Communications, he is responsible for managing all aspects of Sorenson’s technical operations and networks. Sorenson Communications is a provider of video relay services for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. Locke says that new customers are often overcome with emotion to be able to communicate with loved ones—sometimes for the first time. “There are few positions in the corporate world that provide that level of personal gratification on a daily basis,” he says.

At Sorenson Communications, Locke has improved system uptime from 99 percent to 99.9978 percent, and he has scaled and built IS&T systems for more than 100 interpreting centers throughout North America. Tens of thousands of customers rely on Locke’s team each day to ensure systems are up and running, providing uninterrupted communication opportunities.

Bart Miller
SVP Sales, GOAL ZERO | Age: 39

At 10 years old, Bart Miller got caught rummaging through neighbors’ cars for spare change. His grandpa was worried about Miller’s direction in life, and helped his grandson start a lawn mowing business. He’s working with bigger chunks of change these days.

Miller was hired as COO and CFO at GOAL ZERO, but after the entire executive team focused on revenue growth in the last 18 months, Miller says he discovered a passion for sales and transitioned to head of the sales team.

GOAL ZERO started 2011 with a $5 million revenue plan—a 500 percent growth goal over 2010. By March, Miller says he realized business was on a much steeper trajectory and he faced the challenge of redoing the plan. Within three months of starting as SVP of sales, GOAL ZERO saw the largest sales increase in the company’s history and set several sales records.

Alan Martin
Founder and CEO, CampusBookRentals.com | Age: 32

While a student at Weber State University, Alan Martin devised a textbook rental plan that has revolutionized the textbook industry. “We rent textbooks to college students as a low cost alternative to buying,” says Martin. “Typical savings are 55 to 65 percent, which translates to as much as $600 dollars per year for a full-time student.”

The company is a win-win for colleges and universities, too. “We provide white label rental technology to on-campus bookstores, enabling them to rent their own textbooks right off their shelves,” he says. Because of its innovative practices, CampusBookRentals.com was recently named one of Forbes’ Americas Most Promising Companies.

Like most entrepreneurs, Martin has faced many hurdles along the way. “On August 27th, 2010, on our then biggest day in company history, our primary textbook supplier shut down, leaving approximately 6,000 customers without books that we had promised to deliver…the situation felt desperate.” Martin and his team worked nonstop for 72 hours and solved the problem. “It was a tremendous learning and growth opportunity and experience for our entire organization.”

Mark A. Miller
Partner, Holland & Hart LLP | Age: 38

As a patent attorney, Mark Miller gets the opportunity to learn about new technology with each new client. He says helping companies protect ideas they’ve worked hard to develop is exciting, because he develops a passion for the businesses and innovations he helps protect. Miller’s hard work has paid off. Along with his mentor, Brett Foster, Miller has successfully helped several Utah companies enforce their patent rights and stop competitor infringement.